The last pair had an unfortunate accident while driving.
There were three more who had been in Reyes’s inner circle.
They would be the hardest to track down, though. After this, they would all be more cautious. And the others were smarter, had taken more care.
It was going to be harder, from here on out.
Still, once he had eliminated the final few, he’d . . .
He’d what?
Gus really didn’t know the answer to that.
He stopped on the beach, staring out at the almost painful blue of the Pacific while that question echoed inside him. He’d what?
“Killing your way through Mexico, Gustavo?”
He tensed at the sound of that voice. He had his weapon, tucked under his shirt at his back. But it was a question, really. Could he draw it before the man behind him shot him?
Antonio Moran had made him who he was. What he was. The older man was in his late fifties, but he was still one deadly son of a bitch. Slowly, he turned and eyed the man who’d held his leash for almost fifteen years. Up until Gus had slipped that leash to go rescue his sister.
He’d failed there.
But he wasn’t going back on that leash, either. If he hadn’t been so afraid of the hell he could bring to Consuelo’s door, perhaps he could have saved her and Alejandro.
“Nothing to say?”
He just stood there as Moran crossed the sand to stop just a few feet away.
“I’ve got a number of dead bodies that I can track back to you, and you’re just going to stand there and stare at me like you’d rather see me dead than speak,” Moran said, sighing a little.
“There’s not much reason to speak, is there?”
Moran inclined his head. Then he shifted his gaze and looked out over the water. “I am sorry for your sister. For the problems you’ve had these past few years. If you had come to me . . .” He stopped and shrugged. “But there is no reason why you would have.”
“Reyes would have done anything to bring his son home. The man was an abusive monster and he had contacts everywhere. He even had men on your payroll, and we both know it. Now . . . why would I have come to you?”
“I would have protected anybody you brought to me,” Moran said softly. “Surely you know that.”
“I believe you would have tried.” Gus did believe that much. “But you cannot control all of those under you, not when you knowingly allow rats to exist under your thumb, just to see what crumbs they’ll leave.”
“I’d never put an innocent child in harm’s way,” Moran said.
Gus laughed humorlessly. “I wasn’t much more than a child when you dragged me into this.”
“But you were never innocent.” Moran shrugged as if that made all the difference.
“I’m not coming back,” Gus said. “If that is why you are here, you waste your time. You might as well kill me now.”
Moran made a tsking sound under his breath. “And here we were, having such a nice conversation. Have I threatened you at all? Insisted that you come back?”
“There is no other reason for you to be here.”
Moran tipped his face back to the sun. “Perhaps I just wanted to see for my own eyes that you were still alive. You stayed hidden for a long time, Gustavo. And you went after a very dangerous man.”
“You made me for just that purpose.”
Silence fell and then Moran nodded. “Yes. Indeed I did.”
He reached into his pocket and held something out.
Gus ignored it.
Moran just let it fall to the sand. “You feared staying close to your family because of the life men like us lead, Gustavo. I can respect that. I understand it. I even pushed you to do just that. But you don’t have to continue this life . . . you got lost in the world once. Do it again, mi amigo. Get lost and take care of that boy. Give him a real life.”
Gus bit back his response and stayed where he was, ignoring whatever it was on the sand as he stared out over the water. He could never fully escape the past he had here. It would always find him, he thought. He couldn’t create a new life out of nothing.
Moments passed. He didn’t know how much time passed. He was alone on the beach. Moran had left, leaving behind nothing but a sealed envelope. Scowling, Gus knelt down and tore it open. The letter inside, the documents, all they did was make him scowl. A new birth certificate, a new passport . . . the promise of a new life. What . . . what was this?
A new life. Meaningless, now. Alex was gone. Vaughnne . . .
Mierda.
Even as he thought of the futile, fanciful impossibility of it, something brushed against his mind. It was faint at first. Then harder, and louder, like something was slamming against his skull—from the inside.
Vaughnne . . . her voice an echo, like it was coming to him through a tunnel. Or maybe over thousands of miles.
I’m getting ready to break this kid’s heart, you son of a bitch. Wherever you are, I hope you’re having fun.
Don’t suppose it ever occurred to you to try this with me together? This kid could use two people in his life who love him. We could have both given him a home . . . I would have been happy to have you in my life, Gus. But you’re too much a coward to try it.
He tensed, holding his breath as he waited for more.
“Vaughnne.” He closed his eyes and whispered her name again.
But she couldn’t hear him. That wasn’t her gift.
And he didn’t have any.
ALEX was a quiet shadow at her side as she led him into her apartment.
It wasn’t much.
The second bedroom was mostly used as an office, but she’d already figured that problem out. She could move her desk into her room. It would be cramped, but that wasn’t a problem. The bookshelves would go into the living room. Problem solved.
She flicked on the light and automatically checked the room, wishing she’d sense some dark, quiet shadow hiding in wait.
He’d changed his mind.
He’d realized he was wrong.
Something.
Anything.
But they were alone.
She knew it.
So did Alex.
“He’s not coming back.” It was the first time Alex had spoken in over three hours.
She locked the door and then looked over at him. His eyes, so like his uncle’s, met hers, and the pain there all but broke her heart all over again. She’d known this would happen, she thought absently. The very first time she’d seen that kid, she’d had a feeling he’d break her heart, and she’d been right.
“No, Alex,” she said softly. “I don’t think he is.”
He nodded, his eyes taking on a dull, lost look.
Unable to stop herself, she crossed to him and caught him in her arms.
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder as he started to cry. “I’m sorry, kid,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why did he leave?”
Closing her eyes, she wished she could figure out the right way to answer that. But there was no right answer when a boy’s world had just been shattered . . . again. “I think he believes he’s doing the right thing. He’s a smart guy, your uncle. But he’s not very bright sometimes, huh?”
A hard sob shook him. “He left me. He really left me.”
It was a pain that she understood. No, her parents hadn’t left her. They’d thrown her away like she was nothing more than trash. Worse . . . they’d thrown her out, in fear and hatred. Hugging him tighter, she said softly, “I know, Alex. I know. You’ll get through this, I swear. And I can promise you this, as long as God lets me, I will be here. I won’t leave you, I won’t throw you out. I’ll be here for you . . . I’ll love you and take care of you and I’ll fight for you and with you. I’m not your mom and I’m not Gus, but I’ll do my best for you, I swear.”